On World No Smoking Day, amend COTPA to protect people from secondhand smoke

Doctors, cancer victims and relaxers in Assam have asked the Center to amend the COTPA 2003 to remove smoking rooms in hotels, restaurants and airports to protect people from second-hand smoke.

The COTPA extends the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.

Doctors, cancer victims and restaurateurs appealed at a function in Guwahati to mark World No Smoking Day on Wednesday.

While commending the government for initiating the process to amend COTPA 2003, he called for immediate removal of a current provision that would allow India to be 100% smoke free and check the spread of COVID-19 infection in the country. gives.

“There is increasing evidence that smoking is a risk for COVID-19 infection. Smoking impairs lung function and reduces immunity. Munindra Narayan Bairwa, managing director of the North Eastern Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, said that smokers who develop COVID-19 infection have more complications and a higher risk of death.

All designated smoking areas of hotels and restaurants and even airports should be abolished to ensure a 100% smoke-free environment. Most of these smoking areas rarely comply with COTPA requirements and actually place our public health at great health risk from exposure to second-hand smoke.

Section 4 of COTPA 2003 prohibits smoking at any place to which the public has access. But the Act does allow smoking in designated smoking areas of certain public places such as restaurants, hotels and airports.

Anti-tobacco activists said there is a risk of passive smoking in hotels, restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs, putting the lives of thousands of non-smokers at risk.

“With cigarette smoke reaching common areas, COTPA needs to be amended to not allow smoking in any premises. Second-hand smoke is as harmful as smoking and smoky smoke zones facilitate the spread of COVID-19 infection because smokers cannot socially distance or wear masks and get stuck in proximity in a smoke-filled environment Goes, ”said Guwahati-based anti-tobacco practitioner and advocate Ajoy Hazarika.

“The Central Government’s decision to start the process of amending COTPA 2003 is a step towards improving public health. The amended act to protect millions of Indians from tobacco-related diseases and deaths requires a 100% smoke-free environment, ”said Mr. Hazarika, who is also the secretary of Consumer Legal Protection Forum, Assam.

In a recent survey conducted in India, 72% believe that second-hand smoke is a serious health hazard and 88% of people support strengthening current tobacco control legislation to address this threat.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of disease and premature deaths globally, and more than 1.2 million people are losing their lives every year due to tobacco-related diseases in India. There are over 26 crore tobacco users in India, cutting across all demographics and genders.

The annual economic cost of all tobacco products was 34 177,341 crores in 2017-18, which is 1% of India’s GDP. According to the Ministry of Health and the Indian Council of Medical Research, tobacco use in all forms – smoking or chewing – has been associated with Kovid-19 casualties.